| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure. So enjoy yourself." And behold, it too was futility. | 1I said to myself, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. |
| 2I said of laughter, "It is madness," and of pleasure, "What does it accomplish?" | 2"Laughter," I said, "is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?" |
| 3I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives. | 3I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was good for people to do under the heavens during the few days of their lives. |
| 4I enlarged my works: I built houses for myself, I planted vineyards for myself; | 4I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. |
| 5I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees; | 5I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. |
| 6I made ponds of water for myself from which to irrigate a forest of growing trees. | 6I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. |
| 7I bought male and female slaves and I had homeborn slaves. Also I possessed flocks and herds larger than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. | 7I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. |
| 8Also, I collected for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. I provided for myself male and female singers and the pleasures of men-- many concubines. | 8I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, and a harem as well--the delights of a man's heart. |
| 9Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me. | 9I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. |
| 10All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor. | 10I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. |
| 11Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun. | 11Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. |
| 12So I turned to consider wisdom, madness and folly; for what will the man do who will come after the king except what has already been done? | 12Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done? |
| 13And I saw that wisdom excels folly as light excels darkness. | 13I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. |
| 14The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. And yet I know that one fate befalls them both. | 14The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. |
| 15Then I said to myself, "As is the fate of the fool, it will also befall me. Why then have I been extremely wise?" So I said to myself, "This too is vanity." | 15Then I said to myself, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said to myself, "This too is meaningless." |
| 16For there is no lasting remembrance of the wise man as with the fool, inasmuch as in the coming days all will be forgotten. And how the wise man and the fool alike die! | 16For the wise, like the fool, will not be long remembered; the days have already come when both have been forgotten. Like the fool, the wise too must die! |
| 17So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun was grievous to me; because everything is futility and striving after wind. | 17So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
| 18Thus I hated all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, for I must leave it to the man who will come after me. | 18I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. |
| 19And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity. | 19And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. |
| 20Therefore I completely despaired of all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun. | 20So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. |
| 21When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge and skill, then he gives his legacy to one who has not labored with them. This too is vanity and a great evil. | 21For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. |
| 22For what does a man get in all his labor and in his striving with which he labors under the sun? | 22What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? |
| 23Because all his days his task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is vanity. | 23All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless. |
| 24There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God. | 24A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, |
| 25For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? | 25for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? |
| 26For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight. This too is vanity and striving after wind. | 26To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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